A large and growing population of users enjoys entertainment through the consumption of media items, including electronic media, such as electronic books (also referred to herein as ebooks), electronic newspapers, electronic magazines, other electronic publications, audio books, and digital video. Users employ various electronic devices to consume such media items. Among these electronic devices are electronic book readers, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable media players, tablet computers, electronic pads, netbooks, desktop computers, notebook computers, and the like.
One feature common to many electronic devices is the ability to provide notifications to a user for scheduled or unscheduled events. For example, if a calendar application running on the electronic device has an event scheduled for a certain time, the device may provide a notification, such as a visual indication or an audio indication, of the event at the start time of the event or prior to the start time of the event (e.g., a reminder). In certain cases where the user is using the electronic device for playback of a media item (e.g., playing a movie, reading an electronic book), the notification may interrupt the user experience. For example, it may be undesirable to receive notifications while the user is using the electronic device to perform certain actions. Conventionally, the user has no way to manage when or how notifications are received, when the electronic device is being used for other purposes.